Many air conditioning units, such as by way of example and not by way of limitation furnaces, are configured to operate either in an “off” mode (providing no heat) or in an “on” mode (providing heat at full capacity, with the burner and blower operating at substantially 100%). Such on-off operation may be referred to as single-stage operation. Single-stage furnace operation may cause temperature in a conditioned space, such as a home, to go up or down by several degrees, having an effect on both occupants' comfort and energy bills. Single-stage furnaces may be designed to keep a home warm on the coldest days, but such coldest days may account for only about 2.5% of a heating season. Additionally, the turning on or off of a single-stage furnace may be manifested by a sudden increased flow or gust of air noticeable by occupants and affecting occupants' comfort.
A more comfortable solution for furnace control may be to use a two-stage furnace control approach that employs two “on modes” of operation (sometimes referred to as a first stage of operation and a second stage of operation) for delivering different volumes of heated air. Such two-stage furnaces may increase the precision of temperature control available to a furnace and thus may increase occupants' comfort in a conditioned space. However, such two stage furnaces may still require a periodic turning on and off of air flow so that an undesired sudden flow or gust of air may still be noticeable by occupants and may still affect occupants' comfort.
A modulating furnace may ease comfort and cost problems associated with a sudden increased flow or gust of air by “modulating” output of a furnace among different capacities in small incremental stages during operation. A modulating furnace may, by way of example and not by way of limitation, operate between 40% and 100% of capacity in 10% increments, depending upon the comfort requirements of a homeowner and the temperature outside. Such modulating operation may result in lower operating costs, quieter and less obtrusive operation and more even temperatures in a conditioned space.
A modulating furnace is generally coupled for operation with a modulating thermostat designed for operation with a modulating furnace in the modulating range (e.g., 40%-100%) in increments (e.g., 10% increments). Such a modulating thermostat may significantly increase cost of installing a modulating furnace. It would be advantageous for a user to be able to install a modulating furnace without having to also replace an existing two-stage thermostat.
There is a need for a method and system for controlling a modulating air conditioning system, such as a heating system, using a two-stage thermostat.